Bellusso Jewelers Blog

For those who know and love IWC Schaffhausen, you know the brand's history is linked to the world of aviation and dates back to the early 1900s. In fact, IWC is credited with developing the first truly anti-magnetic pilot's watch thanks to the development of a soft iron inner case.

So this year at SIHH, the brand unveils a spectacular array of pilots watches that will be hitting our store later this year. Among them: Big Pilot's Heritage 55 and 48 watches (yes, we did say 55mm!) that take their inspiration from the navigation watches the brand made in the 1940s, to the Pilot's Watch Automatic 36 — a reduced size for the brand. It is powered by the IWC caliber 35111 (Sellita base) running at 28,800 vph, with a 42-hour power reserve. Best of all, it is still antimagnetic, with a soft iron inner case.

There is also a newly overhauled version of the famed "Mark" pilot's line, and, for those who prefer a little elegance in their pilot's instrument, IWC unveils the Big Pilot’s Watch Annual Calendar Edition “Le Petit Prince.” The mechanical watch offers annual calendar with date, day and month displays, power-reserve indicator and small seconds at 9:00. Just 250 pieces will be made of the 46mm gold watch. We will bring you more news after SIHH.

IWC Schaffhausen is a brand well known for its bold timepieces that venture where no one else goes. This brand was a leader in technology since its inception, creating the incredibly oversized Portugieser watch well ahead of its time, inventing the first anti-magnetic watches in the 1930s, unveiling one of the most complicated watches in the world (Il Destriero Scafusia) in the last decades of the 20th century and today exploring the Galapagos and world's oceans as part of its efforts to support the environment.

Now, as witnessed at last week's SIHH exhibition in Geneva, IWC is moving ahead with the development of its own in-house-made calibers to power its watches. The rollout is time consuming, as creating a movement takes years, but the first fruits of the brand's efforts were unveiled last week. Among the new watches to house Manufacture-made calibers is the IWC Portugieser Annual Calendar. This makes perfect sense since this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Portugieser collection — a line we love. The stunning blue-dialed watch will make its way to our store later this year, but for now, we wanted to make the introduction.

This past weekend wrapped up a pretty significant event in Florida: Art Basel Miami 2014. Every year the event grows and more artists and luxury brands partake. This is especially true of the watch brands. A strong number of luxury watch brands choose this venue as their playground. This year was no exception. In fact, IWC Schaffhausen used the platform to not only officially unveil its Portofino midsized watch brand (which we have written about here before), but also to unveil the superb collection of approximately 60 photos that were taken by Peter Lindbergh of celebrities that are friends of the IWC brand.

The unveiling of the photo exhibit — called Timeless Portofino — was held at the W in Miami Beach. The black and white photos selected were just a tiny portion of the thousands (21,000 photos, in fact) that Peter Lindbergh took of celebrities such as Emily Blunt, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Ewan McGregor and Zhou Xun during a three-day weekend in Portofino where they were all —of course — wearing Portofino Midsize watches.

On hand for the press event and the evening star-studded gala were a host of celebrities, including models Adriana Lima and Karolina Kurkova, comedian Jason Alexander, actor James Marsden, and famous athletes, such as Lennox Lewis and Martina Navratilova. Following a gala dinner, guests were treated to a private afterparty with a surprise performance by singer Solange Knowles.

“IWC is thrilled to be in Miami during such an expressive festival, celebrating the artwork of Peter Lindbergh and our new Portofino Midsize collection through our ‘Timeless Portofino’ exhibition,” said IWC CEO Georges Kern.

The event was the perfect place to showcase the photo exhibit and the intriguing new Portofino Midsize collection of watches. Stop in and see our selection of IWC timepieces any time.

Last week in Hong Kong, a very important watch exhibition took place: Watches & Wonders 2014. Here, top watch brands unveiled their newest creations – watches that will make their way to the individual markets some time later this year or early next year.

IWC Schaffhausen, one of the top Swiss brands, took the opportunity to release to the world its newest Portofino Mid-Size Collection. With a case size of 37mm, the line is perfect for women or for men who prefer a dressier, yet somewhat smaller sized, timepiece.

The Portofino has, heretofore, been recognized globally as a classic, elegant watch with crisp clean lines inspired by the lifestyle of the northern Italian city whose name it bears. The unveiling of the new Portofino collection marks the 30th anniversary of the Portofino line, which was first introduced in 1984.

The new collection consists of three models (steel, rose gold and white gold) in dozens of variations, and we are certain women will love the line, which includes the Portofino Midsize Automatic Moon Phase, the Midsize Automatic Day & Night model with second time zone indication, and the Portofino Midsize Automatic.

Varying degrees of diamonds adorn the dials and cases of many models, and IWC has turned once again to Italian shoemaker Santoni to provide top-quality, hand-stitched alligator straps in a stunning array of colors. There are also three new automatic models that feature 40mm cases set with precious stones.

According to Georges Kern, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, “IWC has established itself as a global brand, and therefore keeps a close eye on what people are wearing when it comes to watches and jewelry, on what trends are developing. What we are currently observing is an increasing worldwide demand for watches set with diamonds. With the Midsize collection, we are making this successful, classic watch line more interesting for customers with slimmer wrists.”

To celebrate the launch of the line, IWC once again turned to famed photographer Peter Lindbergh, who shot the watches in black and white on the wrists of IWC friends of the brands, such as Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor and others. Additionally, supermodels Karolina Kurkova and Adriana Lima participated in the shoot, which took place in the picturesque seaside village of Portofino. The photographs will be part of a global traveling exhibition that will find its way to Art Basel in Miami in December. We are very excited to be able to bring this new collection to the forefront for our female watch lovers and for connoisseurs with slightly smaller wrists.

Earlier this week, we discussed what makes a watch water resistant — just in time for those great summer water sports we all love. Today, we look at some of the factors that go into the making of a professional dive watch that can accompany you on your underwater explorations. Since scuba diving has become a favored sport for water lovers, the watch world has come full circle – assisting divers, by offering highly technical precision timepieces.

Indeed, top watch brands offer watches that easily withstand the cold or warm salt water elements of the deep blue sea. Watches for diving are equipped with all sorts of important features, including helium escape valves, one-way rotating and ratcheted bezels to measure elapsed dive time, SuperLuminova hands and markers for easy underwater readability, expansion bracelets for use over wetsuits, and so much more.

Dive watches are not a new category, though they have gained in popularity for wear both in and out of the water. Often watch brands seek outside help from experts in the dive world as they build their professional timepieces. Dive watches have to meet certain diving standards to be considered true dive watches, and then — depending on whether one is skin diving, scuba diving, deep sea diving or snorkeling — the water resistance requirements range from — at the absolute minimum — 100 meters, with most needing to be water resistant from 200 meters to 1,000 meters.

Additionally, today’s dive watches typically are defined by characteristics, such as durability, anti-glare crystals and rugged materials. Generally, surgical-grade stainless steel and titanium are the materials of choice for the serious diver. For straps, the concept is, without question, bracelets or rubber straps.

Other important factors — often patented by the watch brands — include double- or triple-locked winding crowns, additional gaskets to ensure water resistance, silicon O rings, extra-large crowns, alarm functions and double-locked bracelet clasps. Most dive watches are also COSC-certified chronometers. (Chronometers are watches that have undergone rigorous testing in various positions and under different conditions of pressure, temperature, depth and gravity, usually by the Controle Official Suisse des Chronometres (COSC) observatory over a period of time.)

IWC, no newcomer to the world of diving watches, having introduced its first Aquatimer to the world in 1967, sponsored the Cousteau foundation in the past and even released the Cousteau Divers Aquatimer in 2004. That revolutionary watch, five years on the heels of its GST Deep One Divers watch, opened doors for a host of new Aquatimers and put IWC squarely on the underwater maps. Most recently, IWC has teamed with the Charles Darwin Foundation to preserve the biodiversity and environment of the Galapagos Islands.

The newest additions to the IWC Aquatimer family – the Aquatimer Automatic and the Aquatimer Chronograph – are worth a close-up look. Offered on rubber straps or metal bracelet with quick change bracelet system, the new pieces are statements of purist design and function. The watches feature an internal rotating bezel with quarter-hour scale that is reminiscent of the first Aquatimer released in 1967.

The watch is enhanced by the strong look of the external bezel with rounded, recessed grips. Because it is essential to see time at a glance when underwater in order to calculate how much air is left in the tank, IWC offers a triangle marking system on the bezel. The triangle marking the start of the dive, zero point, is synchronized with the minute hand so elapsed dive time can be precisely read on the scale. For added protection the external bezel can only be rotated counter-clockwise so that should it inadvertently be moved, the diver will conclude he has been underwater too long – an annoyance but not a danger. This new IWC SafeDive system features a patent-registered sliding clutch.

Additionally, the new 2014 Aquatimers are now pressure-resistant to 30 bar. Inside the 44mm steel case of the Aquatimer Chronograph beats the 79320 caliber with 44 hours of power reserve, while the 42mm Automatic Aquatimer is powered by the 30120 caliber. All watches are equipped with luminescent hands and markers. These watches are functional and fantastic. If you are so inclined, watch the video below for a look at IWC’s newest 2014 collection, and remember to stop by to see our wide variety of dive watches anytime — but before you go diving, naturally.

With auto racing in full swing now that summer is here, IWC releases new top-performing Ingenieur watches. As the Official Engineering Partner of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team, IWC has been inspired to create new and exciting pieces that utilize top-quality sports-related materials and offer important functions.

Among the highlights is the new Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance Ceramic (Ref. IW322404) that features materials typically found in motor racing. Created in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, the watch case is crafted of carbon fiber that is twice as strong as steel, but only 1/5th of the weight.

The watch is also equipped with a mirror-finished ceramic bezel and a carbon fiber dial. Even the screw heads and crown protectors are ceramic, while the screws and caseback ring are crafted of rugged titanium. The calfskin strap is lined with rubber for durability and comfort.

Powered by the IWC-manufactured 80110 caliber with integrated shock absorption system, the watch features a visible rotor in the shape of the pistons found in the Formula One racing car. Sleek yet strong, this watch is a superb rendition of IWC’s technical prowess.

Another strong model in the lineup is the Ingenieur Dual Time (Ref. IW324402) that is a powerful statement maker in a 43mm stainless steel case with a more classic, technically sophisticated look. The current local time is displayed by the hour and minute hands on either a black or silver-plated dial. The second time is indicated by another hand with an arrowhead tip on the outer 24 hour ring. The watch can be advanced or turned backward in one-hour increments. Car racing fans can now cross the international date lines with ease while following their teams globally – or, just use the dual time function for business or pleasure travel.

About the Store

Welcome to Bellusso Jewelers, pure luxury for the discriminating shopper. This romantic terrace-styled row of boutiques is located on the casino level of the Palazzo Hotel, Resort & Casino between the Venetian’s restaurant row and the Palazzo’s grand casino. Sophisticated, elegant and strikingly opulent, Bellusso Jewelers boasts the most stunning array of jewelry and timepieces from some of the most celebrated brand names in the world.